CHAPTER XL 

 Tapping tools. 



I. THE REQUISITES OF A TAPPING TOOL. 



Many descriptions of tapping tools are in use on estates 

 in the Malay Peninsula. We shall see that they may 

 be reduced to a few simple forms. Too much importance 

 should not be attached to the form of the tapping- tool. 

 The chief thing in carrying out the tapping is careful 

 management and the dexterity and experience of the 

 workman. The perfection of his tools is a secondary 

 matter. It is an old tale that "bad workmen complain 

 of their tools", and this saying is very applicable in 

 this case. 



The essential requirements of a good tapping knife 

 are the following. 



1. The knife must be simple, containing as few nails 

 and screws as possible and no fragile or very light or 

 breakable parts. The native workman is not competent 

 to manipulate difficult tools. He always wants to take 

 them to pieces, much as a schoolboy shows the same 

 anxiety with his first watch. Repairing is always a more 

 or less difficult matter and is generally left undone. 



2. The knife must be light and easy to handle. 



